HYLA Blog

Three Things to Do Before Trading-in Your Phone

Competition is fierce among smartphone carriers and retailers, so terrific offers on upgrade and leasing plans have consumers perpetually thinking about trading-in their devices for the latest and greatest technology. If you’ve decided to upgrade, there are three steps essential to making the switch a smooth one.

1. Back Up Your Data

Mobile devices are packed with important data such as e-mails, videos, photos, documents, and personal and professional contact information. Before saying goodbye to your phone, be sure all of its data is backed up securely so you can easily load everything onto your new device.

Every smartphone can be backed up, either to a computer or to the Internet. You can use an app to sync to the cloud and back up only the files and documents saved on your phone, if you don’t need to back up your apps or device settings. Or you can back up your entire smartphone, including your apps and settings, using a service designed for your mobile platform.

To back up your device manually, you can connect it to your PC or Mac with a USB cable so it shows up as an external hard drive, and then drag and drop files from your device to your computer. Research the options available, pick the approach you’re most comfortable with, and back up your data. If you do the backup before you go to the store to trade-in your phone, you’ll be able to take your time and be sure you haven’t missed anything.

2. Make Sure Your Phone is Completely Empty

The data on your mobile device probably includes sensitive personal information such as account numbers, passwords and contact information for other people. Before you turn in your phone, you should permanently delete all of this data so it can’t be retrieved by anyone else.

First, clear nearly all the information from your device using a “hard reset” to “wipe” data from the memory. The owner’s manual or website of the device manufacturer should provide detailed instructions for doing this. The store where you trade-in your phone can do a master reset, but if you do it yourself, you can be confident that all your data has been deleted before you turn it in.

Second, erase or remove the SIM and SD cards. These cards may contain information about you even after you wipe the phone. If you have apps stored on your phone, be sure to remove them as well as the data associated with them. If you plan to keep your phone number, ask your mobile provider if you can transfer the SIM card to your new phone.

3. Look for a Great Deal

Mobile services and smartphone pricing can be complicated to understand. The traditional cell phone contracts of the past have been replaced with contract-free plans containing a whole slew of options and choices in pricing models. Wading through the flood of available options and pricing plans can be overwhelming. You should research the services and options available to you, pick the device you’re going to buy, and decide whether to trade-in your device online or in a store.

You should also know what your current phone is worth, and that’s where HYLA Mobile can help. Our mobile app, truetap, runs a diagnostic on your phone to find its maximum trade-in value. You don’t need to know the specs of your phone, such as the model number and memory capacity, because truetap can determine your phone’s value on its own and find price offers in the marketplace that match the condition of your phone. All you need to do is choose the best offer and then go to the store or website of that vendor to trade-in your phone.

Trading-in your smartphone used to be challenging anyway, and it’s even more intimidating now that the market is more complicated than ever. Thankfully, there are services and apps available for backing up your data, cleaning off your phone, and finding the best offers for trading-in your phone and buying a new one. Trade-ins may seem complicated, but ensuring a successful outcome couldn’t be easier.

For more information or advice on mobile device trade-in programs, contact us!